Guest pelmetman Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Thought I would have a bit fun and see if I could use the poll thingy :D Plus it would be interesting to find out if there are any forum members, who have had a perfect van ie without any faults, as most people naturaly tend to post about problems :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 My van is so old that any faults had already been sorted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I had to use 2 votes, Vehicle & Conversion. Vehicle - Battery failed. Conversion - Battery Charger failed, bed pullout leg adjustable foot broke. (all replaced under Warranty) Last week the Heki Rooflight jammed - now waiting for wind & rain to stop so I can have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Is this for new or used vans Dave? I doubt there is a van out there that has not had a problem at some time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Tracker - 2011-05-27 7:37 AM Is this for new or used vans Dave? I doubt there is a van out there that has not had a problem at some time? Perhaps I should have specified that :D..............How about during your ownership :D ...........I was wondering if such a mythical vehicle existed, but it seems like there are at least 7 so far B-) ............Maybe as Retread said its the 2nd hand vehicles who have had their problems sorted are the better buy ;-) Maybe the people who have fault free vans can let us know what make, age, and mileage they are :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Obviously the longer you keep your van the more likely you are to have faults and failures but this needs to be put in perspective with the reducing rate of depreciation compared to new together with the older van owner's expectations and perceptions of reliability. I don't class reliability as things breaking or failing because I expect things to go wrong on any van. I class reliability as whether or not a failure stops or spoils my holiday - and in many years I have never (yet) had a holiday spoilt or curtailled by a failure - and I've only ever had UK built conversions in all those years. Mind you it's been close at times over the years! Of course things do go wrong but I have always managed to cobble together a temporary repair if I was unable to get a proper fix whilst away but with the advent of ever more complex vans and electronics that may well not be the case in the future? Going back to my very first (very tatty) Bedford CA Dormobile in 1969 to date I have never had a van so bad that I wanted to get rid of it. Lucky me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 I once read an indignant post from someone who was complaining the quality of his van was poor, because the hinges on his locker doors had loosened. Was that a fault? To him it was, to me it would be only what I would expect on a new van after a few miles on the road. Tightening and adjusting seem to me no more than normal things to do, just routine maintenance. Look around the average van, and what do you find? Most of the furniture is probably by Technoform, fridges by Thetford or Dometic, ditto toilets, windows by Dometic or Polyplastic, rooflights by Dometic or Remis, cab blinds by Remis, heaters by Truma, electrics by CBE, Schaudt, or Sargeant, etc etc. In short, all the converter does is assemble bought-in components (from a very small group of manufacturers) onto a platform, which in turn sits on a bought-in chassis, and enclose them in a shell (mostly) produced by themselves. So, who is really at fault when things fail? If the van leaks, or the assembly or installation of the components is at fault, it is clearly the converter. But otherwise? If the components fail, is it the component manufacturer who is at fault, or is it the converter, for choosing poor componentry? I don't excuse the failings but, for example, would it be fair to blame, say Swift, for a failure in a, say Thetford, fridge, or should one instead feel a bit of sympathy (assuming they put right the fault) for Swift over the failed fridge, and not blame them for the fault? Again, if someone owned a van from new for just two years, and then sold it saying it was fault free, does that judgement carry the same weight as someone who owned a similar van from new for 10 years, and found it fault free? What I am arguing is that for such surveys etc to be valuable, one has to choose the targets with great care, and carry out a great amount of analysis. It really ain't that simple to get answers that are useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Componentry :D ...........thats todays new word sorted B-) .......I try to learn one a day :D Of course your'e right Brian my poll has no scientific merit at all, it was only mean't to be a bit of fun, but it seems there are 7 fault free vans out there so far B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 pelmetman - 2011-05-27 12:35 PM Componentry :D ...........thats todays new word sorted B-) .......I try to learn one a day :D Of course your'e right Brian my poll has no scientific merit at all, it was only mean't to be a bit of fun, but it seems there are 7 fault free vans out there so far B-) No. There is just one fault-free van; that has been owned at various times by those lucky 7 people.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 BGD - 2011-05-27 1:12 PM No. There is just one fault-free van; that has been owned at various times by those lucky 7 people.............. Quite! :-D And yes, I did realise it was intended as fun, but as it was in Motorhome Matters (where the more weighty issues are considered! :-)), I thought it appropriate (sorry, more that three syllables!) to point out how difficult it can be to evaluate (ditto) different vehicles, from different manufacturers, owned and driven by different people. After all, people's problems with their vans are serious for them, as well as providing an opportunity for a bit of harmless fun for everyone: no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Maybe with an older van B: faults are considered as character? design 'improvements' on newer vans are considered fripperies and bound to cause grief OK so my van doesnt leak, the drive train works and the domestic arrangements work, the trim doesnt fall off and I'm quite prepared to change the TV cupboard into a storage unit cause its not big enough for the FST combi which again I've no issue with bolting to the (very solid) wardrobe Wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postnote Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Brian Kirby - 2011-05-27 12:18 PM I once read an indignant post from someone who was complaining the quality of his van was poor, because the hinges on his locker doors had loosened. Was that a fault? To him it was, to me it would be only what I would expect on a new van after a few miles on the road. Tightening and adjusting seem to me no more than normal things to do, just routine maintenance. l. Now come on Brian, that’s was yet another silly statement. I suppose that is applicable to airliners, opps the door feel off at 36,000 feet, silly me should have tightening and adjusted the door before take-off. I suppose to you, only to be expect on a new plane after a few hours in the air. Oh Brian do think, little things mean a lot to some people (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Have to note what Brian says, vans are a sum of their parts. but the manufacturers/assemblers should be blamed when kit stops/fails to work, they specified the kit, they are the experts, if an aircraft company fitted 2nd rate components we would not blame Cheepand nasty(aerospace) plc for the problem we would blame the front line face ie Boeing, Airbus etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I agree with Brian that most 'faults' are usually of component parts but I also feel that most of them occur within the first few months of ownership. More often, the source of frustration is that the PDI has not picked up faults at the outset - and this is very much a converter's responsibility. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Kinda makes you think buying second hand is the most sensible route :D ...........No massive depreciation hit, all the faults sorted, and usualy a load of extras paid for by the previous owner B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Just one question Dave - who is 'Poll'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Tracker - 2011-05-28 8:44 PM Just one question Dave - who is 'Poll'? Specsavers beckon (lol)But seriously PDI's are supposed to be carried out by the agent N'est ce pas? but, as in another thread, what can you expect from the second cousin to a used horse trader! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Tracker - 2011-05-28 7:44 PM Just one question Dave - who is 'Poll'? She's a dancer I know :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 ...................................and what problems does she have and did you cause them?????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.